The meeting of two spirits
by Kes Quest
Summary: It's the night before the invasion and neither the painted lady or the blue sprit can rest.  What will happen if the two happen to meet


I don't own Avatar or this fic. This was created by the people of BSG and is recopied here with their permission.  
This was done as a role play so if it doesn't flow all that well that is the reason. And give credit to the people who were playing Katara and Zuko.  
KZKZKZKZKZKZKZK 

It had been a few days since Katara had helped that fire nation village in the river.  
Helping people instead of hiding and keeping up with Sokka's schedule just felt right to her. Maybe that's why she had decided to keep the outfit. She suspected that Toph knew that she had kept it, but so far she had been able to keep it a secret from Aang and Sokka.

That's why she had snuck out of camp again this night. They were all just waiting for the next day when the invasion would take place. But like Aang she found that she couldn't sleep and she had heard about a small mining village where all the men and some of the woman and children had started getting sick.

She didn't even think about telling Sokka that she had wanted to go and help. She knew what he would say. "The schedule doesn't have room. And even if we could stop we would then have to travel with no potty or food breaks for the rest of the trip."

Not to mention he would throw a fit about the fact that she would be revealing that she was a water bender to yet another village and that might make someone take notice that they were there. And there were a few people who it wouldn't take long to leap to the conclusion that a water bender in the fire nation could spell trouble.

Thus she was running through a forest trying to reach the village as fast as she could. That way she would get to the village and be able to heal most of the night and get back before the other's woke up.

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After all he had ever been through to get back to the fire nation and reclaim his honor, Zuko still didn't feel like he belonged. Or maybe it was that he didn't feel he deserved to belong.

One nagging thought kept him from feeling at ease.The Avatar could still be alive.No.  
The Avatar was alive. Zuko knew it. He could feel it, sense it.

It was maddening. Like waiting for the executioner to strike, wondering when he would show up again. He would feel relieved, and disgraced at the same time.  
Even if he managed to catch the Avatar after the fire lord found out, would he still be able to reclaim his honor?

The only way to be sure was to get rid of the Avatar, and make sure no one ever found out. Still, after sending an assassin after him, it didn't exactly relieve Zuko's troubled thoughts.

The Avatar had a knack for getting away. Zuko was restless with these worries night after night. He had to do something to take his mind away from it, he had to search for himself.

Besides life in the capital city was driving him mad. He was at war within himself. He had everything he ever wanted ┘ But still didn't feel whole. Was it because the Avatar was still alive? He didn't know. But after the war meeting, Zuko knew that this life wasn't right, something was wrong. It had to be the Avatar, it was always the Avatar.

And so it came to be that Zuko set off to find clues for the Avatar. But how could he risk being caught looking for someone who was supposed to be dead?

"Time to visit an old friend." Zuko thought, as he purchased the mask from the vendor on a lively night of the fire nation streets. Early summer was at hand after all, the nights were pleasant, and a celebration was in order for the return of the triumphant return of the fire lords son, Prince Zuko.

He stared at the familiar grinning face in his hands from under the hood of his cloak. "The blue spirit is back."

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Finally Katara had made it to the edge of the village. The moon had been up for a few hours, thus she knew it would be safe to enter. But still she didn't want anyone to mistake her for anything but a spirit.

Thus she started to bend the moister that was hanging in the air, mixed with what she found in nearby water sources, such as creaks, wells, and buckets. To create a cover of mist.

She glided through the mist like the spirit she was impersonating. If she had had any doubts that the painted Lady would take offence to her actions they had been all set aside, when the painted lady herself had shown up and thanked her.

Now that she was here though .. where should she start?

Knowing that she really should have thought this whole thing through a little better before coming here she sighs. Well there was no helping it now that she was here. She would just have to try to sneak into as many houses a possible and heal the people within.

She leaps into the air trailing mist behind her and lands on the roof of the first house.

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After several days of traveling in hopes of finding the Avatar, Zuko had come to a small, poor village.

Following rumors, looking for signs in the sky, jumping at the slightest sign of the Avatar's presence, Zuko was reminded how exhausting his life as a banished prince really was.

Never a real rest. Never a true sleep, not until the Avatar is found.

He sighed leaning against a tree in the village. There seemed to be a lot of poor, sick people here. As a weary traveler Zuko fit right in, next to vagabonds and homeless people sleeping in the street on the warm summer night. Some of them would cough regularly.

Zuko would be glad to move on in the morning and leave this place behind him for good. But for now, he could do with some rest himself. He headed through the misty village, trying to get to the outskirts and look for a safe place to lie down and rest, when he heard a sound overhead.

He looked up just in time to catch a dark flash of something jumping over the rooftops of the houses. He squinted after the movement as the mist grew thicker.  
"What was that?"

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Katara drew the fog thick around her to cover her tracks as she jumped down from the roof. For she had spotted a few sick men huddled together under the awnning of the next house. They would be the first of the villagers to receive her kindness.

She lands a few yards from the men. She cocks her head slowly to the left looking for a source of water. The fog, make-up, and deliberateness of the act really do give her the air of a spirit.

Then she spots a barrel set up to collect rain water falling from the roof. A smiles plays softly across her lips as she calls the water from it's resting point to her hands with out paying much attention to anything but those who need her.

Finally she is by the oldest man's side. He looks to be in his sixties and sores cover half his face. Katara can't help but to let out a sigh of pity. She reaches out a hand and begins to heal the men. Under her breath she hums a soft lullaby as she works.

She couldn't help but notice that no one seemed to be doing anything to help these poor people. It was as if old men, women, and children's suffering was beneath the notice of those in power. When she finished healing she would have to find some way to permanently help these people.  
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Zuko was intrigued by the fleeting shape overhead. It wasn't an animal, so far as he could tell... Which wasn't very far at all. He sighed in annoyance, and followed the direction of the mysterious movement, trying to back away from the house for a better look.

But the sudden thick mist hardly allowed for him to see two feet in front of him, let alone any rooftops. He cursed the mist, as he gave up looking for a sign of movement.  
He instead, ran along the direction of the rooftop he saw it go, ears open for any sound.

"Drat. I lost.." He broke off his thoughts as he almost bumped into a man lying in the street, coughing loudly. He put his mask on, afraid of being seen. Again he cursed the mist. He almost ran over the sick man. "That would have made quite a scene..." He mused, as the mist broke away for a moment revealing the dark shape huddled over some sick people.

Zuko smirked behind the mask. _There you are.■_

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Katara had finished healing the first man and leaned down to heal the other. The second man is looking past her, at the Blue Spirit. At first she doesn't think anything of it and continues to heal the man. But it isn't long before she feels as is she's being watched.

The feeling of being watched just wouldn't leave her. So as she finishes up she bends the rest of the water in her hands into a small mirror. She catches the reflection of a figure in the mist behind her. Not knowing weather this is friend or foe she makes a run for it.

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Zuko watched from across the way as she slowly stands up. He notices that her shoulders stiffen, and wonders if he has been found out.

She turns slightly and he catches the look of fear in her eyes for just a moment, and then they were gone, flying through the mist.

Zuko didn't know what force made him move so fast, so suddenly. His instincts told him to run after her, and before he could decide whether to follow them or not, he was already in pursuit.

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Katara ran through the streets as fast as she could. Not having been in this town before was turning out to be her undoing. As she takes a sharp right she finds herself in a dead end. She looks frantically around for a way out. But the buildings are all two stories tall. And with no hand or foot holds there was no way to get out of this. Except the way she had come.

She starts running the way she came only to literally bump into her pursuer. She falls down onto the ground and her straw hat with the veil fly off her head, landing more than two feet away from her closest hand.

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Zuko had just turned the corner of a dead end, when he ran into the very _spirit _he was chasing. And hit hard. The force of the fall made him hit his back hard on the ground. Zuko groaned beneath his mask but quickly recovered, and in gaining his balance to stand he grasped something on the ground.

He looked at what he had unconsciously picked up, it seemed to be a hat. He glanced over towards the _spirit_ he had knocked into, she was frantically reaching for the hat just as he had picked it up in his hands. But she was quick, and she managed to back into the shadows and hide her face before he had a chance to see who it was.

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Keeping her face covered by shadows Katara studies the figure before her. She had seen that mask before, but where? Then it came to her. She had seen it on wanted posters in the earth kingdom.

But what would an earth kingdom fugitive be doing in the fire nation? Frowning she holds a hand out of the shadow and says in what she hoped sounded like a spirit's voice. "So I see that the Blue Spirit has decided to jump the oceans, and has taken to chasing fellow spirits though dingy streets and stealing their hats."

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Zuko was surprised to hear that voice. It was so familiar... And yet he couldn't place it.  
He cocked his head at her, wondering how she could have known about the infamous blue spirit from the earth kingdom. He wondered if he dare speak, dare risk revealing himself.

Apparently all she really wanted was her hat back. Zuko sighed, shrugged, and held out the hat towards the painted lady, slowly moving closer, until he was just beyond the shadows reach. As soon as she reached for the hat, he pulled it back, out of the shadows safety.

"You're a spirit, are you? I didn't know spirits liked hats." He smirked, studying her from behind the mask.

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Katara felt herself getting angry. After all he had made her give up her mission of mercy so that she could evade detection. And now he was keeping her hat from her.

She let out a growl of frustration before taking a deep breath and trying to sound calm. "Spirits always are mysterious in their ways, does it matter whether it is by a hat or mask that we hide behind while we do the works the spirits long for us to do? But I digress. Just give me the hat."

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Zuko frowned. With every word she spoke, he felt more and more certain he knew that voice. He just couldn't place it. He hesitated to give back the hat, wanting to stretch out some kind of conversation, for as long as it took to figure out who it was.

The last statement was very close to triggering Zuko's memory, but it wouldn't come.  
He played for time. "Not a very polite spirit are you." He held the hat loosely to his side.

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Katara glares at the blue spirit, and takes a step towards him. The shadows slip off her face up to her eyes, before she realizes her mistake and slips back behind the shadows of the building.

"I could say the same about you." She brings up her hands and bends fog around herself, before walking forward and grabbing her hat attempting to pull it out of the spirits hands.

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Watching carefully from behind the mask, Zuko caught a glimpse of Katara's face. Enough to see that she was probably beautiful, but not enough to trigger his memory.

The mist rose suddenly, and thicker, and Zuko was almost distracted as Katara reached out and tried to take her hat. Zuko held it tightly, feeling slightly childish. It felt like he was playing tug of war.

"Have you ever considered saying please?" He grunted, taking advantage of her tight grip to spin her around, and letting go of the hat as Katara tugged back, the force of her own weight making her fall into the light.

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Katara was about to yell at the spirit in front of her when he sent her spinning. She instinctually bent the fog around her, but fog doesn't hide much when one is relatively close and in the light.

She regains her balance as fast as she could and placed her hat back on her head. Her anger had boiled over, she takes a step towards the spirit and pokes him in the chest. "Who do you think you are! Coming here disrupting my mission of mercy, stealing my hat, and acting like an arrogant ..."

Her voice cut off when she realize in her anger she wasn't even trying to hide who she was but instead was staring into the eye holes of the blue sprit mask.

Katara's eyes widen as she realizes her mistake. She takes as small step back and starts to gather water out of the mist and into her palm to defend herself if necessary.

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Zuko backed away slightly, in surprise at the Painted lady chiding him. He felt glad for the mask covering his surprised expression. But as she poked him in the chest he couldn't help laughing, it seemed so funny when she cut off from yelling at him, going from complete anger and frustration to looking like a frightened child.

"Excuse me, I didn't _disrupt _anything. You just went running off and I was curious, so I followed." This was funny.

Unfortunately for Zuko, he didn't notice she was bending the mist around them.

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Katara had just about enough of this man's attitude. And now he had seen her face. True she, Sokka, Toph, and Aang had kept mostly to themselves so it wasn't likely anyone around here would recognize her. But then again the blue spirit had been in the earth kingdom.

"Well no one asked you to follow me. But since you are here ... Let's have some prid per quo" Well he has seen her now it's her turn. She quickly turns the water in her palm into ice shards that form around her finger tips. Then she brings her hand up and quickly but neatly severs the tie to the mask.

She smirks and takes a step back.

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Zuko had seen her face, although he was too distracted to realize who she might be. Now she was getting revenge. Zuko's grinning expression fell flat as he realized what she had done.

"Oh noo." He turned as soon as he realized his mask was slipping, but not before it fell to the ground. He reached for his mask, but not before the Painted lady beat him to it.

It was Zuko's turn to hide in the shadows now. This definitely wasn't funny.

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Katara stands just out of arm reach with the Blue Spirit mask in her hand. She smirks at the figure in the shadows, taping the mask on her left leg. "Now don't you know it's impolite to unmask a lady, and not unmask yourself?"

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Zuko looked at her, suddenly realizing he did know her. It was killing him not to realize how. There was something familiar about the way she acted when angry. He could have hit himself he felt so stupid for not knowing how, or who.

"I would suggest handing that back." He said calmly, despite his heart pounding in his head, his anonymity hanging by a thread. There was no way he was going to let anyone see his face. If he had to, he could knock her out, and run away before she woke up.

He hoped it wouldn't come to that, too many risks involved.

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Katara's anger is getting the best of her and she can no longer keep up the disguised voice.  
"You are just so ..." She lets out a growl of frustration.

She takes a breath to try to calm down. She looks down at the mask then back up at the man hiding in the shadow. She crosses her arms and leans back on one leg. "Listen I'll give it back to you .."

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"... If?" Zuko waited for her to continue, feeling his breath hitch. He had a feeling there was a condition attached to getting back his mask.

If the risk was too high, he could always go with plan B.

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Katara looks at the blue spirit and sighs. "Just don't tell anyone that you saw me." She turns away from the masked figure and crosses her arms over her chest. "I'm not supposed to be here. I just couldn't let these people suffer.If word got out I was here" She turns slightly away from Zuko. "Well let's just say it wouldn't end well for anybody."

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Zuko was surprised as she turned her back on him, did she mean as the painted lady or her true self that seemed so familiar if he could only remember her. He felt a little lump of guilt rise in his throat. He hadn't meant her any harm.

"Not a word from me, I might ask the same from you..." Oh great, That was stupid. Now she might not give it back to you at all. He hesitated to continue. "... I didn't mean to scare you away from what you were doing. You can go back to what you were doing before. I won't bother you."

He took a step closer, but stopped just behind the reach of the buildings shadow, so covering his face, and his identity, waiting for her reply.

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Katara turns back to the figure, and bows her head. "Thank you, but how can I tell anyone you were here if I never saw you in the first place" She Gives him a smile and brings the mask up to chest level and looks down at it. "I'm afraid it might not be wearable as is ... But ..."

She openly bends more water into her hand and then bends an ice crown around the sides of the mask. "This should hold until you can get to where ever you are going and fix it." She hands the mask back to the figure.

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As he witnessed her waterbend makeshift straps onto his mask, Zuko felt his eyes go wide and his jaw go slack as his mind suddenly raced ahead to reality.

_"It's the waterbender!... Katara."_ He thought, and almost forgot to reach for the mask in his amazement. Suddenly he wished he had not made that promise so lightly. It would be easy to follow her back where she came from, to find the Avatar's whereabouts.

And if anything, this meeting proved that the Avatar was indeed alive. "... Thank you." He finally managed to say, in a low tone he struggled to keep calm without sounding forced.

He reached for the mask, unable to tear his eyes away from her face. Almost as if he could read where she would go.

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Katara felt the spirits eyes on her. And for the first time since they meet, she found her self wondering if she knew the man in front of her. There was just this nagging feeling. She raises her own eyes to look straight into his. As she hands over his mask the shadows slip off the right side of his face. The first thing she notices are his pale skin and golden eyes.

Her own grow wide as her heart begins to pound in her chest. She can feel the spirit trying to take the mask back, but her desire and fear won't let her give it back. She has to see the rest of the face.

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Zuko grabbed the mask, and slowly pulled back on it, only to feel that Katara was reluctant to let it go. He broke eye contact to glance down at his hand, seeing her firm grasp on it. He was starting to get a bad feeling.

Let go now! He looked back up to her eyes, seeing them set in determination. A determination that he feared meant losing his identity. He pulled harder, hoping she would let it go without a struggle.

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Instead of letting go of the mask Katara takes a step towards the blue spirit as if halfway in a daze. She brings up her right hand and reaches towards the scar she knew but truly hoped wasn't there.

Tears start to fill her eyes as her fingers brush against the dead skin. She takes in a sharp breath of air as she whispers his name," Zuko.".

The tears are falling freely down her cheek as she draws her hand back, but not down.

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Zuko felt his eyes go wide, then his face tightened as her hand touched his scar. It was like a bad dream, some nightmare and he couldn't wake up. No! Stop, this isn't happening! No! "No! Stop!"

He grabbed her hand and pulled it away from his face, quickly, and roughly. He grimaced at her and tried to think of what to say, what to do now, Now that he had been discovered.

But it was really hard to think when she was crying like that. Why is she crying? "You shouldn't have done that." He whispered, suddenly wary of a million eyes, a hundred spies that could be watching.

He tried to pull her into the shadows, suddenly aware.

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Katara allowed herself to be pulled deeper into the shadows. She lets the mask slip out of her fingers and into the hands of the boy who was an enemy and yet ..

Instead of answering his demand she smacks him across the unscarred side of his face.  
"You betrayed me!" She was so mad that she doesn't even realize her slip of the tongue.

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Of all the things Katara could have done to Zuko, all the predictions he could have made to her reaction upon seeing him again, He hadn't expected that. Some water bending, sure, sharp objects possibly thrown towards his head, yeah, why not? Those were scenarios he could react to, defend against.

But he hadn't expected a crying waterbender, hurt and angry to slap him in the face. He stared down where the slap directed his gaze. Unable to meet her eyes. He felt ashamed, of everything. As if a new perspective had been brought forward. It was maddening, and horrifying. But correct.

He suddenly felt dizzy. He had to get away. "I'm sorry." He couldn't look her in the face. He let go of her hand and ran away without looking back, his new name of the betrayer echoing in his ears.

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Once again Zuko had managed to make Katara feel guilty just by saying those two words. As she watches him leave she is a mixture of anger and confusion.

She's angry at Zuko for what he had done, angry at herself for not having foreseen it, angry that now the crowned prince of the very nation that she and her friends were trying to take down now knew they were here.

She was confused because she still felt drawn to the tormented prince and like it or not her heart was telling her to go after him. To apologize for what she had just said.

So after watching him run for a full minute she starts after him, bending mist around them both so that they could have a semblance of privacy while what ever they were doing was played out.

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Zuko ran hard and fast, the night mist seemed to have cleared, just as his mind had. Before he had reached the edge of the town, he paused looking back, to see the mist reformed behind him, coming closer and closer. His eyes grew wide as he realized she was coming after him.

Panicking, Zuko ducked by a house, and knelt to the ground in an effort to hide as the waterbender's mist covered the town once again.

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If anyone had asked why she was chasing the disguised firenation prince through the town as if her life depended on it, she wouldn't have an answer for them.

As it was she was of two minds. One told her to get to Zuko as fast as possible, what to do when she got there she hadn't quite worked out. The other told her to run back home admit she was going back out as the painted spirit and that Zuko now knew they were near.

The only reason she was listing to the first mind and not the second was her heart. It keeps telling her that there must be an explanation of why Zuko did what he did. For she just couldn't bring herself to believe that he was as far gone as his sister.

Finally she had reached the end of the town. The figure she had been chasing disappeared. Frowning she takes a step towards the fields that surround this side of the town. Her eyes scan the land around her, looking for any sight of the spirit she had chased into hiding.

Finally she spotted a dark spot that didn't seem to be a natural shadow from the waning moon. She takes one and only one step towards him so that she doesn't scare this prey away.

Her lips start to move before she even realizes what she is saying, "Tell me, do you know the story of Oma and Shu? Two lovers who find them self separated by a great war."

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Zuko stared at Katara in shock. He had hoped she would pass him by completely. He stood up slowly, and got ready to defend himself from any attack, when suddenly she spoke. Asking the oddest question.

He couldn't even answer right away, it was so completely unexpected. Moments of silence passed between them. Zuko couldn't read Katara's expression. "No... I'm not familiar with that story. Why?"

He couldn't help wonder what she was getting at.

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Katara didn't know why she was telling this story but now that she had started she decided to continue. "Their love was a forbidden one. For the people of the villages of which they were born were at war with each other. They were so deeply in love that despite the danger, they both snuck out at night to meet on top of a mountain."

"It didn't take long for the elders of their village to notice what the young lovers were doing and forbade them to meet. Desperate to see each other they started watching the badgermoles who seemed to be able to go anywhere they wanted, and so they learned to earth bend. They created a labyrinth beneath the very mountain top they use to meet. But one day Shu didn't come. Frantic, Oma went to her village elders to find out what had happened to him. They told her that he had died in the war between the villages."

"Wracked with grief Oma destroyed both the armies in a powerful earth bending display. As the two villages mourned together, Oma created a great city for them to share so that they would never make war on each other again."

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Zuko found himself scowling. Why was she saying this? What could she mean by it? It seemed so obvious, but Zuko couldn't allow himself to think that. "Nice little tale." Zuko's voice came out sounding harsh, and bitter. He was surprised how much, as the words left his mouth.

He clenched his fists tightly, before lashing out again. "What does that mean?" Was she sincere? Why would she tell him that story? She was playing games. Toying with him. She had to be. Is this her revenge?

He took a deep breath and replied more calmly. "What do you want from me?" He said in a low voice, almost sadly.

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Katara blushed then flushed with anger. "What I want from you is the truth! Why did you betray me back in Ba Sing Se!" Tears start to form again. "I thought we were making that labyrinth. Coming to an understanding so that we could work together!"

She turns her back on him, not believing what was coming out of her mouth but unable to stop it, "But then I guess you aren't like Shu at all. You are like the elders of the villages, who couldn't and wouldn't put aside their differences to see how much they were actually alike."

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Zuko couldn't believe what he was hearing. After all this time, what he did, she still was trying... He felt that dizzy feeling falling over him again. He couldn't take many more surprises like this.

"But≈I thought that..." Zuko struggled to answer. "Why don't you hate me?" He stared straight at her. Hoping to gage her reaction. She couldn't mean what she said, it wasn't possible, no one is that forgiving.

That's when he saw her crying. It brought back memories of that night in the caves, her mother, Uncle... His siding with Azula. He took a hesitant step closer to her, unsure exactly how to proceed.

"I'm sorry, Okay? I know I made a mistake!" He gritted his teeth. "I may have acted like the elders, But≈I wish I was more Shu... I wish I could." He looked at her with a mixture of sadness and frustration.

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She turns back to face him the tears cascading down her cheeks. "Mistake! a Mistake! You chose destruction of the world. For what?!? So you could keep your honor! Did you not tell me that the firenation took your mother? Didn't your Uncle try to help Aang?"

"Stop making excuses and for once in your life do what your heart tells you is right!"Katara holds herself as she cries, "I want to hate you Zuko. Oh Agni how it would be so much easier if I did!"

"Can't you see that no matter what, my heart won't let me?"This confession is too much for her to bear and she breaks down into uncontrollable sobs.

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Zuko's face fell. He didn't know what to say or do now. He looked at her, longing to say or do something useful.

She just sobbed on the ground, and he felt more helpless. He wanted to run away, hide from this. He couldn't stand it. He wanted to comfort her, to make it better, make it stop! ... But he didn't have the right to. He knew he had no right to come near her. He didn't deserve to.

Yet still he found himself moving closer. He moved so close he could feel her tears splatter on the ground. But he didn't touch her. He knelt down until he was at eye level, even though she was staring at the ground, not sure what he was doing. "You don't mean that." He said softly, "You do hate me. It's easier that way."

She looked up at him, with those sad, blue eyes, crying never-ending tears. No, don't look at me like that, don't. "Stay away from me Katara."_ I beg you._  
She looked surprised. He leaned in closer, looking intently in her eyes. "It's too late, I can't change what I am."

He stood up and backed away. Taking one last long look at the waterbender. His heart was screaming not to go, to take a chance. But what did that even mean? What chance?  
He didn't have one. He had used it up.

That's an easy excuse. The conflict was too much. He had to think things through. He couldn't watch her cry anymore. He had nothing to say to make it stop. _Don't you? Are you sure you can't make it stop with one word?_

He turned his back, and ran, and this time he wouldn't stop. He had to get back, and tonight. There was too much to do, and far too much to think about. The Avatar, the war, and Katara's words, haunting his troubled mind all the way back.

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Katara watched Zuko run into the darkness. Even if she had the strength to follow him she wouldn't. After all the things she had said to him, all the things she had never meant to say but all true.

He still had rejected her.

It took a while but finally the waterbender turned spirit ran out of tears. She slowly rises as if in a daze. She takes one final look in the direction the prince had run off in, before making her own way back to the island where her friends awaited her.

She knew that she would meet the troubled prince again, but this time she vowed she would take him down. One way or another, even if it broke her heart to do so. For what was one more crack in a heart that was already just hanging on by one thread.


End file.
